


Harry Potter and the Proof that Drarry is Real

by chicken_salad



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Drarry, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Essays, M/M, Meta, Nonfiction, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Unrequited Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:48:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 10,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26798377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chicken_salad/pseuds/chicken_salad
Summary: “Of course it is happening inside your head, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”A friend once challenged me to convince her that Drarry was shippable, and this is the result: an essay that analyzes each of the seven books and highlights the information (& my opinions) that I thought would persuadeherthe most.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter
Comments: 34
Kudos: 105





	1. Introduction

**Introduction:**

Drarry, like all good head-canon ships, requires a little bit of ingenuity on the part of the shipper. Just because Harry and Draco don’t end up together during the seven books does not mean that Drarry isn’t plausible. There are three steps to becoming a Drarry believer. There isn’t a particular order for the steps, but you can’t truly take up residence in the Drarry dumpster unless you follow these rules.

Step One: read between the lines. Harry Potter is canonically a single-minded, himbo-in-training who does not understand his own feelings, so his thoughts and actions cannot be taken at face value. Consequently, we only see Draco through Harry’s bespectacled, unobservant eyes, which means the motivation behind any of Draco’s actions is up for interpretation.

Step Two: accept that Draco is a child who deserves a redemption arc. I know Draco Malfoy is a little shit. He has to be an insufferable fuckweasel in order to firmly establish the Enemies/Rivals phase. There is no Drarry if they are not enemies first. It is their constant rivalry that fuels what will eventually become sexual tension, and the romance would just not be believable if Draco weren’t, well, Draco.

But, in the books he is a child. He’s an only child, with overbearing parents. They’ve indoctrinated him from birth into a specific way of thinking. For the first eleven years of his life, he’s in this bubble of pureblood superiority where nobody ever dares speak out against their beliefs. He has, for sure, seen the tapestry at Grimmauld Place. He knows what happens if someone disagrees with the family-- they get disowned. He might not know the specific circumstance around Regulus Black, but if Sirius and Remus both assumed that Regulus was trying to back out from being a Death Eater and got killed for it, then the Malfoys probably came to a similar conclusion. For the Malfoys, blood is everything. Not just blood status, but also their families. In Draco's mind, if he doesn’t have his parents’ love and support, then what does he have? Abandonment? Death? Choosing family seems like a pretty easy choice for a kid given those alternatives. 

I’m not going to sit here and suggest that Draco Malfoy is innocent and didn’t say and do terrible things in the name of purebloods. He did, and I won’t deny it. But one of the cool things about human nature is that we can change and grow as we become exposed to additional world views. Draco probably never even saw a muggleborn until he went to Hogwarts, and so he would have believed every nasty thing his parents had ever said about them because he didn’t have any reason not to. Then he gets to Hogwarts and he realizes that muggleborns are smart. And half-bloods are good at Quidditch. And maybe purebloods aren’t inherently better just because of their blood status. By the end of the books, Draco Malfoy has started to show some remorse. I will analyze the specific events later in the essay. But I will offer this brief example to get your empathy juices flowing:

In Half Blood Prince he’s given the absurd task of killing Dumbledore. He doesn’t do it. He’s a smart kid, and yet he uses indirect methods that are easily thwarted because he doesn’t want to be a killer. He’s only putting up a half-hearted attempt because he’s not brave enough to stand up to his family. 

Draco Malfoy is a little shit but he’s not un-savable. 

Step Three: ship Ron and Hermione. Their relationship is set up as an enemies-to-friends-to-lovers romance as well, but they get through the Enemies stage by Halloween (mostly) in the first book. Ron and Hermione’s constant bickering throughout the series (and it resulting in love) is the peer relationship that Harry is exposed to the most during his formative years. Harry has no idea what a healthy relationship looks like--his aunt and uncle are monsters, his parents are dead, and he lived in a cupboard for the first decade of his life. So, to Harry, the natural course of a relationship involves years of bickering and rivalry before some catalyst (like a mountain troll, or a wizarding war) finally forces you to acknowledge your feelings for the other person.

If you’re still not convinced and require actual, canonical ,support of Drarry I have provided it. Proceed with caution.


	2. Sorcerer's Stone: A Rivalry Begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All quotations in this chapter (unless otherwise noted) come from my copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (US paperback edition, 1999)

**Sorcerer's Stone: A Rivalry Begins**

It all starts when Harry and Draco meet for the first time at Madam Malkin’s. Harry is intimidated by Draco, and even though he immediately doesn’t like Draco, there’s still something about Draco that makes Harry want to impress him anyway:

 _“Mmm,” said Harry, wishing he could say something a bit more interesting._ (78)

Another thing to note in this scene, is that Draco is interested enough to strike up a conversation with Harry. Given Draco’s obvious disdain for anything that isn’t pureblood, it seems reasonable to assume that he wouldn’t just talk to anybody out there (heaven forbid he talk to a muggleborn accidentally), so something about Harry intrigued him enough to take that risk.

By the time they make it to the Hogwarts Express, things are heating up. Or at least Draco wishes they would. Draco specifically goes looking for Harry on the train (an action that will eventually become a habit for both parties) and offers Harry his (morally questionable) friendship. With this seemingly innocuous question, Draco’s villain origin story begins, and we’ve entered into the Enemies/Rivals phase of our ship. Draco wants to be friends, Harry declines, and Draco immediately retaliates by making fun of Harry because he’s hurt and that’s how he deals with embarrassment. Mocking Harry Potter becomes his defense mechanism to hide the fact that he was upset by rejection. This particular moment will fuel Draco’s path through the Enemy/Rival phase.

Draco continues to poke at Harry to get him to react because he knows that’s the only attention that he’ll be able to get from Harry, and he will continue to deploy this mocking defense mechanism throughout the seven books. An example of Draco going out of his way to get Harry to react occurs when he unnecessarily passes the Gryffindor table and takes the opportunity to snatch Neville’s remembrall knowing that it would make Harry upset. Also, on page 195 he’s embarrassed that Slytherin lost to Gryffindor so he chooses to mock Harry to hide his embarrassment:

_“He was looking over at Harry as he spoke...Malfoy had been even more unpleasant than usual since the Quidditch match. Disgusted that the Slytherins had lost, he had tried to get everyone laughing at how a wide-mouthed tree frog would be replacing Harry as seeker next. Then he’d realized that nobody found this funny, because they were all so impressed at the way Harry had managed to stay on his bucking broomstick. So Malfoy, jealous and angry, had gone back to taunting Harry about having no proper family.”_

Now that the foundation of Draco’s path has been set, it’s time to explore Harry’s path. On page 130, Harry Potter dreams of Malfoy making fun of him. And on page 143, Harry stresses about making a fool of himself on a broomstick in front of Malfoy. Whether he wants to admit it or not, Harry Potter cares what Malfoy thinks and wants to impress him. If Malfoy’s side of the rivalry was established at his rejection on the train, then Harry’s side of the rivalry is established at the second Quidditch match when Harry is willing to face Snape (and what Harry perceives as certain doom) and play in the match just to get back at Draco.

Then there’s the whole dragon thing. Malfoy’s obsession becomes apparent when he’s listening in on Harry’s conversation and he risks punishment by sneaking out just to catch Harry Potter with a dragon. Meanwhile, Harry is so distracted by his thoughts of Malfoy that he forgets his invisibility cloak and gets a detention.

I hesitate to bring this quote up as evidence of Drarry, but:

 _“‘I hate them both,’ said Harry, ‘Malfoy and Snape.’”_ (196)

Unfortunately, we both know that by the time that the epilogue rears its ugly head, Harry Potter no longer hates Severus Snape. While not directly connected to Drarry, this does set the precedent for Harry forgiving his first-year grudges and opens up the possibility for Harry to move on from the enemies stage at some point.


	3. Chamber of Secrets: Draco Figures Some Shit Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All quotations in this chapter (unless otherwise noted) come from my copy of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (US hardcover edition, 1999)

**Chamber of Secrets: Draco Figures Some Shit Out**

If the analysis for the next few chapters sounds familiar, it’s because Harry Potter still hasn’t figured out his feelings, and Draco Malfoy is still dealing with his by mercilessly making fun of Harry. In my personal head canon, by the second book Draco Malfoy has figured out that he has romantic feelings for Harry. There’s not really definitive proof of that because Harry’s POV does not allow for that sort of realization, so WHEN Draco figures it out is a personal decision by the shipper, but narratively it makes sense that Draco would be more in touch with his feelings than Harry and it would happen earlier on for Draco than for Harry. 

As mentioned in the introduction, Hogwarts is a time of awakening for Draco--he’s learning to question that status quo as he’s introduced to opposing opinions. Granted, this early on in the book series he’s not ready to apply this critical thinking to his own family. That takes some time, and also is going to take a catalyst (like things getting bad for him and his family) before he’s able to do so. But, in the first three books he can at least figure out that he has a crush on Harry Potter.

Also established in the introduction, Draco Malfoy is a coward. That wasn’t my focus when I was reading the first few books (and even I have my limits on how often I can re-read these books in one calendar year), so I don’t have the specific page numbers to back up this assertion, so you’ll just have to trust me on it. He surrounds himself with bigger, more intimidating people than him (Crabbe and Goyle). He’s afraid of rejection so he throws his money, power, and family name around in order to ensure that he’s accepted (i.e. buying the Slytherin Quidditch team Nimbus 2001s in Chamber of Secrets). But he also doesn’t want people to know that he’s afraid, so he continually overcompensates by being mean to Harry Potter because he wants people to think that Harry’s casual rejection of him meant nothing. He also can’t tell Harry how he really feels because the only thing that would be worse than Harry Potter rejecting his friendship would be Harry Potter rejecting his love. Anyway, keep in mind that Draco knows that he likes Harry Potter and he is doing his damnedest to make sure Harry doesn’t figure it out.

The first mention of Draco Malfoy in Chamber of secrets is in the first chapter, when Harry Potter is desperate for Hogwarts interaction and is even willing to admit that he’d be glad to see Draco just to make sure that he hadn’t imagined his entire first year. Draco’s name pops up again twenty pages later when Harry is rescued from Privet Drive by the Weasleys and taken to The Burrow via Flying Ford. 

Harry Potter explains that a house elf appeared in his bedroom with the mission of stopping him from going back to Hogwarts. Dobby is worried about Harry Potter’s safety and knows that there’s something sinister in the works, but the Weasleys explain that Dobby is also probably following orders. 

_“Someone’s idea of a joke. Can you think of anyone at school with a grudge against you?”  
“Yes,” said Harry and Ron together, instantly.  
“Draco Malfoy,” Harry explained. “He hates me.” _(29)

Harry isn’t wrong that Draco sent Dobby, and I’m sure that Draco would be very glad that Harry jumped to the conclusion that he did it out of malice. But I think that he had other motivations. First, if Draco has spent the summer back in Malfoy Manor and outside of the influence of Hogwarts, he’s probably starting to figure out that his world is different from the wizarding world as a whole. For a twelve-year-old, this knowledge is probably overwhelming, and Draco being the coward that he is, figures that the best way to deal with a threat is to remove it completely. He can’t not go to Hogwarts, but Harry Potter is the embodiment of his self-questioning. If he can remove Harry Potter from the equation, then he can continue to ignore the other thoughts he’s having that might lead him to question his upbringing. No Harry Potter means no crush and that means he can go on with life as he always has. 

Alternatively, if Draco has some idea that there’s an evil plot he could be doing this out of concern for Harry’s safety. He’ll justify his actions by saying that he’s trying to rid Hogwarts of Harry, but by doing so he’s also ensuring that Harry Potter survived another year. Draco grew up hearing about Harry, he saw Harry in action in Sorcerer’s Stone, he knows that Harry has a hero complex and would find himself trying to thwart any evil that happens, and Draco Malfoy doesn’t want Harry to get hurt. Because sure, life would be easier if Harry wasn’t in it, but he likes him, so he doesn’t want to get rid of him permanently. 

We finally see Draco when he and Lucius Malfoy stroll into Borgin and Burkes (a thing that Harry is mortified of, because _“he was lost, covered in soot, and wearing broken glasses”_ , and he absolutely didn’t want Draco Malfoy to see him like this because Harry Potter always wants to be his best when he’s around Draco). Draco spends most of this scene complaining to his father.

 _"'Harry Potter got a Nimbus Two Thousand last year. Special permission from Dumbledore so he could play for Gryffindor. He’s not even that good, it’s just because he’s_ famous... _famous for having a stupid_ scar _on his forehead...everyone thinks he’s so_ smart, _wonderful Potter with his_ scar _and his_ broomstick--' _  
'You have told me this at least a dozen times already,' said Mr. Malfoy, with a quelling look at his son."_ (51)

Draco Malfoy clearly can’t stop talking about Harry Potter. Their summer holidays are only like two months long, so if Lucius is not exaggerating, Draco brings up Harry Potter more than once a week. 

Draco and Harry don’t really interact again until their Quidditch match nearly one hundred pages later. I’d like to offer the possibility that Draco only joined the house team as a seeker to be able to guarantee time spent with Harry. During the match, Draco consistently offers snide remarks, and doesn’t seem particularly interested in actually playing quidditch.

 _“And then, glaring back at Malfoy in hatred, he saw it--the Golden Snitch. It was hovering inches about Malfoy’s left ear--and Malfoy, busy laughing at Harry, hadn’t seen it.”_ (171)

It’s not fair to Draco’s Book One characterization to suggest that Malfoy not seeing the snitch was because he’s a bad Quidditch player. It’s already established that he has some decent broom skills. I really think that Malfoy is not in it for the snitch, he’s in it to see Harry. 

Along the same vibe of Malfoy constantly making fun of Harry, at Christmas: _“Harry didn’t even care that Draco Malfoy was making loud, snide remarks about his new sweater from the Slytherin table”_ (212). Draco could have made the remarks quietly to his classmates, but he wanted to make sure Harry heard, because he needed to make sure that Harry would never get the wrong idea about his feelings. And lucky for Draco, Harry is an absolute idiot. Later, when Harry and Ron are in the Slytherin common room Draco makes fun of Colin Creevey by making fun of Harry and it’s obvious that it’s something that he does regularly. 

But this book isn’t all about Draco. Near the end of the book, when they make the announcement about the mandrakes and everyone starts cheering, Harry makes it a point to look over at Draco Malfoy when he should just be celebrating with his fellow Gryffindors.

I will leave you with the predecessor for the sexual tension of the sixth book duel:  


_“'Scared' muttered Malfoy, so that Lockhart couldn’t hear him.  
'You wish,' said Harry out of the corner of his mouth."_


	4. Prisoner of Azkaban: The Rivalry Continues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All quotations in this chapter (unless otherwise noted) come from my copy of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (US paperback edition, 2001)

Prisoner of Azkaban, though my favorite book, suffers from being the most re-read. It also doesn’t help that by book three of reading and taking copious notes, I’ve become a little bit bored. Especially because it’s more of the same vibe as the first two books. Draco and Harry are still firmly in the Enemies/Rivals phase, Harry has absolutely no idea that he’s bisexual, and Draco is still too afraid of his crush on Harry to make any real, life changes.

Once again, Draco Malfoy goes out of his way to find Harry’s compartment on the Hogwarts Express. He waits for Harry to get off the train just to make fun of Harry for fainting on the train. It was information he heard secondhand, but he had to bring it to Harry because he desperately wanted some interaction. Later, Draco does some idiot teenage boy stuff to show off, and ends up getting attacked by Buckbeak. After he’s released from the hospital wing and goes to Potions class this scene occurs:

_“They were making a new potion today, a Shrinking Solution. Malfoy set up his cauldron right next to Harry and Ron, so that they were preparing their ingredients on the same table.”_

This is not something that Draco has ever done, perhaps his brush with death has made him bolder. He then spends the entire class making innuendos (bad ones, because he’s 13) while also having Harry help him with his potion ingredients ( _“skin my shrivelfig”_ ). 

_“Well,” said Malfoy, lowering his voice to a whisper, “partly, Potter. But there are other benefits too.”_ (125)

Harry Potter accused Draco of faking his injury in an attempt to get Hagrid fired. Harry assumes that the other benefits are making him and Ron do his potions work. But there were benefits Harry never considered. So far, the only times that Draco is able to interact with Harry are when he seeks him out to make fun of him, or on the Quidditch pitch (which as mentioned, I think Draco only joined for Harry). By faking this injury, he’s also able to use it as an excuse to sit next to Harry in Potions, a class in which he is otherwise expected to sit with the Slytherins, and nobody else (especially not Harry Potter) will think it’s for any other reason.

In this same Potions class, Malfoy makes it known that he knows a lot about the Sirius Black situation. I’m not sure how much of the story he actually knows, but he knows enough about it to know that Harry should be bothered. All Draco should know is what the general public knows: that Sirius Black was arrested for murder and escaped prison. But he knows more than that. Surely, the story of his first cousin once removed is not something that is widely discussed in the Malfoy household. There’s no reason to discuss someone who has been burned off the Black family tapestry and if they really did believe that Sirius was the one who betrayed the Potters they wouldn’t want to talk about it since it was the day that Lord Voldemort was defeated. Which means that Draco Malfoy went out of his way to know a lot about Sirius Black because he cared about knowing anything and everything that had to do with his crush, Harry Potter.

After Harry finds out “the truth” about Sirius Black, Ron and Hermione are concerned that he is going to take matters into his own hands and go after Sirius. And Harry, of course, does nothing to assuage their fears. He starts working out the fact that Malfoy knew, and that Malfoy suggested that he would want revenge. He starts quoting the conversation they had in Potions to Ron and Hermione enough that Ron intervenes:

_“You’re going to take Malfoy’s advice instead of ours?” said Ron furiously. (215)_

Harry probably wouldn’t want to admit it, but Draco was able to tap into a piece of Harry’s identity. He knew Harry well enough to know that he would want to avenge his parents. Harry cares enough about what Draco is saying that he considers, however briefly, to not listen to his two best friends and listen to Malfoy instead. 

Then about 85 pages later, Harry Potter dreams of Draco Malfoy again. Because Draco is always on his mind.


	5. Goblet of Fire: Harry's Sexual Awakening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All quotations in this chapter (unless otherwise noted) come from my copy of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (US hardcover edition, 2000)

**Goblet of Fire: Harry's Sexual Awakening**

If Chamber of Secrets was the beginning of Draco’s clarity, then Goblet of Fire is the start for Harry. There were hints about a crush on Cho Chang in Prisoner of Azkaban, but by Goblet of Fire Harry has finally discovered romantic feelings--not that he has any understanding of them whatsoever. And to quote Hermione after the first task when Ron and Harry are forced to deal with emotions they don’t understand: _“You two are so stupid!”_. 

One of my favorite theories about Harry Potter is that he absolutely has a type and that is Quidditch Seeker. You’ll remember that I’ve already theorized that Draco only joined the Slytherin Quidditch team as Seeker because it was a way to get to spend more time with Harry (and an excuse to talk to him). Draco will inevitably become the fourth seeker that Harry will be attracted to.

First Seeker: Cedric Diggory. He plays a minor role in Prisoner of Azkaban, and Harry is too distracted by his beloved broomstick being destroyed and the mass murder that he thinks is after him to really figure out that he’s not entirely unattracted to Cedric. Early on in the book, we are reintroduced to the Diggorys, and Cedric is described as _“an extremely handsome boy of around seventeen. He was Captain and Seeker of the Hufflepuff House Quidditch team at Hogwarts”_ (71). You might try to pass this off as just an objective description of Cedric Diggory, but then we hear Harry’s actual thoughts:

_“Then there was the fact that Cedric looked the part of a champion so much more than he did. Exceptionally handsome, with his straight nose, dark hair, and gray eyes, it was hard to say who was receiving more admiration these days, Cedric or Viktor Krum.”_ (296)

Unfortunately for Cedric, he happens to also fall for the only seeker that Harry’s willing to acknowledge his feelings for and Harry starts to be jealous of Cedric (although still pointing out all of his strengths):

_“He had been starting to quite like Cedric--prepared to overlook the fact that he had once beaten him at Quidditch, and was handsome, and popular, and nearly everyone’s favorite champion.”_ (398)

This sounds an awful lot like Harry is at least attracted to Cedric, even if he’s not interested in him romantically (or willing to admit that he is, feelings are complicated for him). 

Second Seeker: Cho Chang. This one is a lot more obvious because he spends half the book mooning over her. But I will be fair to Cho Chang and include a few excerpts of canonical proof that Harry was into her. He starts off by embarrassing himself at the World Cup when he sees her

_“...a little farther on they saw Cho Chang, a very pretty girl who played Seeker on the Ravenclaw team. She waved and smiled at Harry, who slopped quite a lot of water down his front as he waved back.”_ (84)

He also makes a comment about how ‘they make them okay at Hogwarts’ when he’s looking over at the Ravenclaw table after the Beauxbatons students arrive. She’s also the first person that Harry asks to the Yule Ball. She, of course, says no because she’s going with Cedric. This leads Harry to make this startling realization:

_“Harry tried not to watch Cho and Cedric too much; it gave him a strong desire to kick something.”_

On the surface this is just Harry Potter dealing with some jealousy and disappointment that Cho Chang doesn’t like him back. But we’re in this for Drarry, and so we must reinterpret lines (without ruining their integrity, of course). So, I shall propose this interpretation: maybe Harry is upset about Cho Chang. But maybe he is also upset about it specifically being Cedric Diggory dancing with her. And perhaps, him wanting to kick something has more to do with the fact that part of him knows he’s attracted to Cedric and that frustrates him.

The Third Seeker will have her turn in Half Blood Prince, spoilers, it’s Ginny. We will also give honorable mentions to Viktor Krum, as a Seeker he clearly appreciates and respects although Ron seems to be the one who has the bigger crush on Krum.

Meanwhile, Draco is stirring up trouble. By fourth year, he has figured out that the best way to interact with Harry while also hiding his true feelings is teasing. He also knows that he has to initiate contact because Harry certainly isn’t going to make the first move. At the World Cup, the Golden Trio happens to find Draco Malfoy in the forest. Sure, this could be a coincidence. But maybe Draco was keeping tabs on his favorite boy-who-lived. Then on the train, Draco seeks them out and appears in the doorway, once again inserting himself into Harry’s conversation. 

After the article about Hagrid comes out, Draco is the first to break the news to Harry. He plays it off like he didn’t want to be the one who told him, but honestly why else would Draco be carrying around a folded newspaper in his pocket if it WASN’T to bring it up to Harry and to have an excuse to talk to him.

Another important moment, is when they are all at the Yule Ball and Harry makes this observation:

_“Crabbe and Goyle were both wearing green; they resembled moss-colored boulders, and neither of them, Harry was pleased to see, had managed to find a partner.”_

I’m not here to say that Crabbe and Goyle are gay. I know plenty of people who have gone to school dances with their friends and not a date, myself included. But Harry clearly has not even considered that maybe they could be. There is room for gay representation in this scene even if _some_ people are too ignorant to acknowledge it.

There were two scenes fairly early on in the book where both Hermione and Harry acknowledged that Draco could actually be right. This is a big shift from their previous thoughts of Draco, especially from Prisoner of Azkaban when they are adamant that Draco can only do wrong and Hermione punches him. Hermione agrees with Draco in Care of Magical Creatures when Draco insists that the blast-ended skrewts are terrible and she says _“You know perfectly well I only said that to shut Malfoy up...as a matter of fact, I think he’s right.”_ (198). Harry agrees with Draco when they are running away at the World Cup when he thinks: _“Perhaps there was truth in what Malfoy had said; perhaps Hermione was in more danger than they were”_ (125). 

The potential for a shift in attitude regarding Draco is also established in Hagrid’s hut after the article about Hagrid being half-giant is published. Hagrid is obviously very upset about it. Dumbledore, Ron, Hermione, and Harry all try to comfort him by giving him examples of people who do like him and are happy that he is at Hogwarts. Hagrid points out that it’s okay for other people to not be universally liked, because at least they’re not half-giant. Harry immediately speaks up and reminds Hagrid that he has shitty relatives too. Dumbledore provides further evidence of shitty relatives by telling them about Aberforth and his preoccupation with goats. The point that both Harry and Dumbledore were trying to make, is that it’s possible for a person to have problematic family members without being problematic themselves. This logic, I think, could be important in Harry eventually being able to accept Draco. If he is willing to accept that he (Harry) is a decent person despite being raised by the Dursleys, he should be able to forgive Draco for having Lucius as a father (this is of course, assuming that Draco has made some life changes and is committed to becoming a better person, which I think he’s on the path to doing by the end of the series).


	6. Order of the Phoenix: A Load of Waffle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All quotations in this chapter (unless otherwise noted) come from my copy of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (US hardcover edition, 2003)

**Order of the Phoenix: A Load of Waffle**

I have to admit, I’m a little disappointed with Order of the Phoenix. As the longest book in the series, I expected there to at least be a proportional amount of Drarry. But, as it turns out, it took nearly 200 pages before Draco is even referenced. Much like Umbridge’s speech, though, there is some important information hidden in the 800 pages of waffle and, fittingly, it’s Hermione who is able to find and explain it to the reader.

For Draco, this is the last book before the catalyst that makes him start to make some serious life changes (not that he knows that). He doubles down on his efforts to squash any hints of a crush, which of course draws more attention to it. Hermione points it out to Harry when she says: 

_“Don’t rise,” Hermione whispered imploringly to Harry and Ron who were both watching Malfoy, faces set and clenched. “It’s what he wants…”_ (361)

Draco does a lot of eye catching and smirking in this book. He also, as always, inserts himself into Harry Potter’s conversations as frequently as possible because he just wants to interact with Harry in some way. Just like in Prisoner of Azkaban and Goblet of Fire, Draco makes it a point to know as much about Harry Potter as possible--he knows about Sirius Black being an animagus now (and proceeds to taunt and inadvertently warn Harry about this knowledge), and he knows that Hagrid spent the summer in the mountains with some giants (a fact he goes out of his way to tell Harry). He inexplicably shows up to Gryffindor Quidditch practice even though no other Quidditch team does that, and he leads the mocking. He also makes eye contact with Harry during their Charms O.W.L:

_“Out of the corner of his eye, Harry distinctly saw Malfoy throw a scathing look over at him; the wine glass Malfoy had been levitating fell to the floor and smashed.”_ (713)

Draco cares about his academics and he wants to do well. He’s a Slytherin and he wants to be the best. Being the best does not typically involve screwing up an important exam (or losing Quidditch matches), but Draco willingly does both in favor of looking at Harry. He also is genuinely sulky and disappointed when Umbridge won’t allow him to go with her, Hermione, and Harry to visit Grawp. He clearly wants to take the opportunity to be around Harry rather than stay in Hogwarts.

For Harry, this book is about him learning to understand feelings. He suddenly is feeling not only his own emotions but Voldemort’s and he’s finally starting to get it. When he’s in his first detention with Umbridge, he feels Voldemort’s happiness and doesn’t even recognize it. But later in the book he’s able to translate Voldemort’s feelings and that’s a sign that eventually he’ll be able to translate his own.

The biggest moment for Harry, emotionally, is after he and Cho have their very wet kiss in the Room of Requirement. As expected, Hermione is there to sort things out for Harry:

_“Don’t you understand how Cho’s feeling at the moment?” she asked._  
“No,” said Harry and Ron together.  
“Well, obviously, she’s feeling very sad, because of Cedric dying. Then I expect she’s feeling confused because she liked Cedric and now she likes Harry, and she can’t work out who she likes best. Then she’ll be feeling guilty, thinking it’s an insult to Cedric’s memory to be kissing Harry at all, and she’ll be worrying about what everyone else might say about her if she starts going out with Harry. And she probably can’t work out what her feelings toward Harry are anyway, because he was the one who was with Cedric when Cedric died, so that’s all very mixed up and painful.” (459)

Hermione is talking about Cho and Harry, but she could just as well have been talking about Draco and Harry. They would both feel guilty about their feelings, thinking it’s an insult to either of their families to be involved with the other. They’d certainly be worrying about what everyone else might say if they started dating. And they would both have trouble working out what their feelings are towards each other because they’re each so involved with the opposite sides of the wizarding war so it’s all very mixed up and painful.

Hermione’s explanation actually makes Harry consider his own feelings:

_“Harry said nothing. Hermione’s words opened up a whole new vista of frightening possibilities. He tried to imagine going somewhere with Cho--Hogsmeade, perhaps--and being alone with her for hours at a time...The thought made his stomach clench painfully.”_ (460)

Maybe Harry only liked Cho because he thought he should, and the frightening possibilities involve admitting his feelings for...other...seekers. Harry continues to screw things up with Cho, and Hermione is there after one of his bigger blunders (Madam Puddifoot’s) to explain more feelings to Ron and Harry which leaves them dumbfounded. 

So far, I’ve discussed Draco’s path and Harry’s path, but there is a third path that is also crucial to Drarry’s formation. I recommended in the intro that shipping Ron and Hermione was necessary to ship Drarry because they bicker constantly and still end up together and it’s the relationship that he’s closest to growing up. But in Order of the Phoenix, Harry is also exposed to his parents' relationship. He always assumed that they were this perfect, loving couple. But he discovers in Snape’s Worst Memory that Lily Evans couldn’t stand James Potter (at least in their fifth year), and this really shakes Harry. Luckily his godfather and Remus Lupin are there to explain that Lily didn’t hate James, and that once he 'deflated his head' and 'stopped hexing people' she started dating him and fell in love. Another enemies-to-lovers relationship for Harry to base all of his relationship expectations on. Sirius also leaves Harry with this important nugget of information, which I think that later on Harry will really take to heart:

_“A lot of people are idiots at the age of fifteen. He grew out of it.”_ (671)


	7. Half Blood Prince: That Flighty Temptress

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All quotations in this chapter (unless otherwise noted) come from my copy of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (US hardcover edition, 2005)

**Half Blood Prince: That Flighty Temptress**

A quick side note before we continue. In Goblet of Fire, I promised a third seeker explanation, so here it is. Seeker Three: Ginevra Weasley. Harry spends more time than usual with Ginny over the summer holidays. Ginny, bolstered by the fact that she has a boyfriend, is able to actually communicate with Harry. On the Hogwarts Express, Harry starts to feel the first hint at liking her: 

_“He felt a strange twinge of annoyance as she walked away, her long red hair dancing behind her; he had become so used to her presence over the summer that he had almost forgotten that Ginny did not hang around with him, Ron, and Hermione while at school._ (136)

Throughout the rest of the book, Harry wrestles with his thoughts of Ginny and his fear of Ron’s disapproval as he watches Ginny’s relationship with Dean crumble. But Harry doesn’t act on his feelings right away because he’s so wrapped up in thoughts of Draco. But then Harry royally screws things up with Draco and gets himself a detention for the last Quidditch game of the season:

_“He wondered what was going on outside, where the match would have just started…Ginny playing Seeker against Cho…”_ (532)

After his detention, Harry returns to the common room where we are treated to one of my favorite book scenes that should have been in the movie but wasn’t (I’m only a little bitter):

_“‘We won!’ yelled Ron, bounding into sight and brandishing the silver Cup at Harry. ‘We won! Four hundred and fifty to a hundred and forty! We won!’  
Harry looked around; there was Ginny running toward him; she had a hard, blazing look in her face as she threw her arms around him. And without thinking, without planning it, without worrying about the fact that fifty people were watching, Harry kissed her.”_ (533)

Curiously, Harry chooses to finally make his move on Ginny in their common room after she successfully won a Quidditch match as a seeker. And now, back to your regularly scheduled programming. 

The first five books are the foundation of The House of Drarry. We have cleared the construction site with my three steps to success and we have poured the foundation of enemies/rivals. But now, we shall start to see the fruits of our labor by building the framework of the house, which is of course, Half Blood Prince.

There are two not-Draco centric moments in this book that are key to Drarry. First, Harry is introduced to Slughorn in this book, an ambitious but generally not-evil Slytherin. This is the first time that Harry meets somebody from Slytherin house that isn’t involved in some way with the Dark Arts. It’s important for Harry to learn that being a Slytherin is not synonymous with being a Voldemort supporter. The Slytherin brand has been corrupted over the years, and now Harry is starting to see that there’s a possibility for Slytherin redemption. The reader also sees a bit of this with Narcissa Malfoy visiting Snape. Harry doesn’t witness any of this, but the reader is exposed (possibly for the first time) to a Slytherin caring about the fate of someone else as well as admitting that she does not agree with Voldemort’s plan.

Second, Ron and Hermione. “It’s not as though he was really surprised, thought Harry, he had an inkling that this might happen sooner or later.” (283). Ron and Hermione are at odds with each other for a lot of this book. In fact, the only time they seem to agree with each other is when Harry is obsessing over Draco and they roll their eyes or tell him to drop it. But, as mentioned previously, this constant bickering resulting in them ending up together is not a shocking turn of events for Harry because it’s the only sort of relationship he’s ever seen. Which means that Draco and Harry’s constant stream of insults and rivalry being the predecessor for an eventual relationship is not completely out of the question.

Much like Chamber of Secrets, there is one line that is constantly referenced as proof of Drarry:  
 _“He was rapidly becoming obsessed with Draco Malfoy.”_ (409)

And while the obsession bit is unquestionably accurate, the ‘rapidly becoming’ part is less so. This quote happens nearly two-thirds of the way through the book and is a testament to how un-self-aware Harry Potter truly is, because he thinks he is only now becoming obsessed. However, there are 400 pages of book filled with moments that show that he has always been consumed by thoughts of Draco Malfoy.

It starts even before they get to the Hogwarts Express. Harry runs into Malfoy at Madam Malkin’s, in a scene that mirrors their first interaction. After they met in Sorcerer’s Stone, their relationship shifted into the Enemies/Rivals phase, and now at the beginning of this book they meet in a similar fashion, perhaps foreshadowing that a shift into the Friends stage is in their future. 

Then, Harry sees Malfoy hurrying up the street alone and Harry begins thinking very (uncharacteristically) hard about the situation. He proceeds to follow Draco all the way to Borgin & Burkes. After returning to The Burrow, _“Harry spent a lot of the last week of the holidays pondering the meaning of Malfoy’s behavior in Knockturn Alley”_ (129). It’s not just Harry being obsessed in the immediate moment of action, now he’s dwelling on it. And he will continue to dwell on thoughts of Draco Malfoy. He spends an entire page theorizing about Draco, and Ron and Hermione remain unconvinced and even share skeptical glances at each other.

Harry decides to explain to Arthur Weasley his thoughts on the situation:

_“Well, we followed Draco Malfoy. We used my Invisibility Cloak.”  
“Did you have any particular reason for doing so, or was it a mere whim?”  
“Because I thought Malfoy was up to something,” said Harry, disregarding Mr. Weasley’s look of mingled exasperation and amusement. “He’d given his mother the slip and I wanted to know why.  
“Of course you did.”_ (134)

Mr. Weasley may not always understand muggle things, but he isn’t an idiot. He can see what Harry isn’t able to see yet: Harry is obsessed with Draco, and he doth protest too much.

Finally, the gang ends up on the train. The second that Ron comes into the train compartment and talks about Draco, Harry sits up straight and is way more engaged in the conversation. He’s thinking about various theories regarding Draco when he’s interrupted to go to a Slug Club meeting which he uses an excuse to spy on Malfoy some more. First, he thinks about using the cloak to get a look at Malfoy on the way, but then when that doesn’t work, he follows Blaise into the Slytherin compartment. Also of note, this idea (to follow Blaise) interrupted his conversation with Ginny, and at this point the hints for them eventually getting together are in full force. Giving Draco priority over Ginny is a big deal. Once in the compartment, _“Harry was so busy staring at Malfoy, he did not notice Goyle reaching up for his trunk.”_ (152).

Harry has been, up until this point, pretty consumed with thoughts of Quidditch. Quidditch was Harry’s life. But now, _“as he pulled on his scarlet robes his mind was far from Quidditch”_ (294) because he’s thinking about Draco. Later in the book he’s almost late to a Quidditch match because he runs into Draco in the hallway and can’t decide if he should follow him or not.

At their apparition lesson, Harry abandons Ron and Hermione in favor of standing directly behind Malfoy. He’s also unable to focus on the hoop he’s supposed to be apparating into because _“he couldn’t stop puzzling over what Malfoy was doing.”_ Harry also considers in one of his important, save the world meetings with Dumbledore what would happen if he refused to allow a change in subject and insisted upon discussing Malfoy.

And then there’s the Marauder’s Map. Harry literally spends hours in front of the room of requirement trying to get in, he ignores his friend’s birthday because he’s too busy looking at the map, and goes out of his way to stalk Draco:

_“Despite his determination to catch Malfoy out, Harry had no luck at all over the next couple of weeks. Although he consulted the map as often as he could, sometimes making unnecessary visits to the bathroom between lessons to search it…”_ (388)

At some point before Harry confronts Draco in a bathroom, he runs into Moaning Myrtle and she describes a boy who is _“sensitive, people bully him too, and he feels lonely and hasn’t got anybody to talk to.”_ This description gives us more of an insight into Draco’s character that isn’t being influenced by Harry’s unwillingness to see anything other than a rich, pureblood, bully. The version of Draco that Harry has built up in his mind isn’t the whole picture, and Harry will come to realize that as his feelings change by the end of the series.

Harry doesn’t know that this is Malfoy yet, but he figures it out when he sees Draco’s dot in a bathroom with Moaning Myrtle later. He interrupts and they fight. Harry immediately regrets the spell that he used, even though it was in self-defense, and he falls to his knees besides Malfoy trying to save him. The scenes after this duel are primarily about the horcrux and his trip with Dumbledore, but his main concern before he left was Draco. So yeah, sure, Harry, you _were_ obsessed with Draco but it wasn’t just starting now…it was for most of the book.

Meanwhile, Draco is having some self-reflection as well. In Chamber of Secrets, Draco started figuring out some truths about himself. He was able to ignore them for several years and hide behind his pureblood security blanket. But now, in Half Blood Prince, Draco is starting to discover some truths about his family.

Early on in the book, Draco is proud and pleased with his new role as a Death Eater. He hints at how important he is when he’s on the Hogwarts Express. He’s confident and unconcerned about the consequences of his potential failures. His mother cries to Snape, _“that’s because he’s sixteen and has no idea what lies in store!”_. Narcissa makes it clear that she knows the real reason that Draco was tasked with this impossible challenge--it isn’t to prove his worth or because he’s exceptional like Draco would like to believe, it’s punishment. Lord Voldemort intends for Draco to die, but it’s not until part of the way through the year that I think this actually starts to sink in. Subconsciously, Draco finds the line that he is unwilling to cross for Voldemort, and this is the first step for him to become disillusioned with the Death Eater movement and move towards the redemption arc that he rightfully deserves.

Dumbledore said it best in his final scene: _“Draco you are not a killer.”_ And it’s true. I disagree with a lot of Dumbledore’s actions, but I have to admit that he has a knack for understanding other people’s motivations, even if his own are questionable. As Dumbledore is preparing for his death, he explains all of the ways that Draco is not a killer. He points out that Draco’s first few attempts were _“so feeble, to be honest, that I wonder whether your heart has been really in it.”_ Perhaps the most telling thing that Dumbledore says in this moment was when he questions why Draco would have let Fenrir come to the school where so many children were and Draco admits that he didn’t, he didn’t know that Fenrir was going to invite himself. Draco cared about the collateral damage, even if he doesn’t want to admit that. There’s also the fact that Draco had Dumbledore alone, and he couldn’t do it. It’s all fun and games when you’re not the one who has to do the murdering, and it was easier for Draco to compartmentalize when he was only hearing about the deaths of a bunch of faceless blood traitors without having any personal stake in it. But when suddenly there was a face to go with the name, and the face was standing right in front of him and he was the one who was supposed to do the killing, I believe he really started to understand the magnitude of how evil Voldemort was.

I referenced **_the_** line earlier, but I think making that the Drarry line is a mistake. Harry and Draco have been obsessed with each other since book one, Harry is just finally figuring it out. I think the more appropriate Drarry line from this book is this one:

_“Harry had not spared Malfoy much thought. His animosity was all for Snape, but he had not forgotten the fear in Malfoy’s voice on that tower top, nor the fact that he had lowered his wand before the other Death Eaters arrived. Harry did not believe that Malfoy would have killed Dumbledore. He despised Malfoy still for his infatuation with the Dark Arts, but now the tiniest drop of pity mingled with his dislike. Where, Harry wondered, was Malfoy now, and what was Voldemort making him do under threat of killing him or his parents.”_ (640)

Harry is furious. He tried, for the second time in his life, to use an Unforgivable Curse, something he (has so far) only attempted when trying to avenge the death of a loved one. But in his anger, he focuses on Snape. He doesn’t blame Draco for any of it. By being forced to watch the events on the tower frozen, Harry was able to see the entire sequence without interfering. His lack of interruption was key to allowing him to find out that Draco Malfoy wasn’t who he thought he was. This paragraph shows that Harry has it in his heart to forgive Draco, eventually. The only thing he dislikes about Draco now is the Dark Arts bit.

Earlier in the book, when Harry is complaining to Hermione about how Snape is so in love with the Dark Arts, she points out that he sounded a bit like Harry. Harry knows that he doesn’t like the Dark Arts, so now he has to conclude that point of view matters. Hermione's wisdom, coupled with Draco eventually renouncing the Dark Arts (which is something that could happen down the road, given that Draco has already started questioning it), should probably be enough to allow Harry to forgive Draco. And if there’s no love for the Dark Arts to despise, the next logical step would be for Harry and Draco to move into the Friends phase.

In fact, he’s already starting to show some characteristics of being a friend. He actually has some concern about Draco’s safety and worries about what else Voldemort might do.


	8. Deathly Hallows: A Tale of Three Redemptions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All quotations in this chapter (unless otherwise noted) come from my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (US hardcover edition, 2007)

**Deathly Hallows: The Tale of Three Redemptions**

Before we dive into Draco and Harry specific scenes, I think it’s important to look at the three redemption arcs that will make up the backbone to the redemption arc that Draco should receive in a post-canon world.

We’ll start with my least favorite of the redemption arcs, Albus Dumbledore. I’m not a fan of Dumbledore or his actions, but there is one particular moment that is applicable to Draco. Harry and Hermione are discussing the things that they’ve learned from Rita Skeeter's tell-all about Dumbledore, and Harry is disgusted. But Hermione, points out:

_“He changed, Harry, he changed! It’s as simple as that! Maybe he did believe these things when he was seventeen, but the whole of the rest of his life was devoted to fighting the Dark Arts!”_ (361)

At the end of the last chapter, the seed had been planted that Draco could move on from the Dark Arts, and here is yet another moment to water that seed and help it grow into a redemption arc. Harry hadn’t personally witnessed anybody turning their back on the Dark Arts successfully before, but he can’t deny that he saw Dumbledore fight against them. Maybe there’s a chance that Draco, too, could change his mind. After all, Draco is only seventeen and he has the rest of his life ahead of him to see the error of his ways.

The second story of redemption is Regulus Black. I brought him up earlier as an example of why Draco would be too afraid to stand up to his family, since he didn’t know the truth of Regulus’s death and would have come to the same conclusion (that he tried to back out and Voldemort killed him as a result) as Remus and Sirius. But Regulus did much more than that. He saw the evil that Voldemort was doing and wanted to end it. Sure, he went along with it for a while, but when it affected him personally (with Kreacher), he decided he needed to try to stop Voldemort. He was a 17 or 18-year-old who was in too deep with the Dark Arts, but changed his mind and wanted to stop Voldemort as best as he could. His story is incredibly similar to Draco’s: wealthy Slytherin home, certain expectations about supporting Voldemort, doesn’t comprehend the severity of Voldemort’s actions until he witnesses it firsthand with his family. Once again, Hermione comes in with a nugget of insight when she says _“Kreacher and Regulus’s family were all safer if they kept to the old pure-blood line. Regulus was trying to protect them all.”_ (198). 

The third story of redemption is Kreacher. Hermione explains: _“He’s loyal to people who are kind to him, and Mrs. Black must have been, and Regulus certainly was, so he served them willingly and parroted their beliefs.”_ (198). Kreacher was absolutely horrible in Order of the Phoenix, but he, like Regulus and like Draco, was a product of the environment that he was brought up in. Kreacher’s attitude improved so much when Harry took the time to treat him well and show him compassion. 

If you take Harry’s acceptance of Dumbledore being a fool at seventeen and learning the error of his ways, Regulus’s attempt to take down Voldemort but keep it secret because he was trying to protect his family, and the transformation that Kreacher underwent when he was finally shown love, you can start to see Draco’s redemption arc. Going back to the sixth book when Narcissa declares that Draco is too young to understand, Draco going along with trying to murder Dumbledore not because he wants to do it but because it would protect his family, and the mercy that he’s shown in that moment by Dumbledore...Draco is well on his way to being redeemed. It’s just going to take Harry Potter putting the pieces together for it to happen.

The reader, luckily, doesn’t have to wait for Harry Potter to figure out that Draco is already starting to feel remorseful. In the very first chapter, we get to see into Malfoy Manor and how Draco is starting to understand that life under Voldemort isn’t as grand as he was raised to believe. 

Later, when Harry, Hermione, and Ron are captured and brought to Malfoy Manor it is Draco who is called to identify them. Narcissa says, _“My son, Draco, is home for his Easter holidays. If that is Harry Potter, he will know”_ (457). This is an odd thing for Narcissa to admit to a room full of Slytherins. Why would Draco be able to recognize Harry any better than the rest of them? It’s not as though he SHOULD have been spending a lot of time with him at Hogwarts since they were in different classes and houses. Years and years of Draco’s obsession, and attempts to cover up his crush, are coming back to haunt him as he’s forced to stare into Harry’s disfigured face. But then, Draco does something both incredibly brave and incredibly stupid. He lies to Voldemort and all of the Death Eaters and says that he doesn’t know that it’s Harry Potter. It’s obvious to the reader that this is a lie because it has been made clear that Draco Malfoy has, up until this point, gone out of his way to see and spend as much time as possible with Harry. 

Even Voldemort is suspicious of Draco’s allegiance later on. Lucius is concerned about the well-being of his son. But Voldemort retorts, _“If your son is dead, Lucius, it is not my fault. He did not come and join me, like the rest of the Slytherins. Perhaps he has decided to befriend Harry Potter?”_ (641). This is the second time in two hundred pages that Draco has deliberately defied Voldemort’s orders related to Harry Potter. It also shows that Draco is no longer going to follow the expected path of the Slytherins and Voldemort’s followers.

Harry Potter started expressing concern for Draco at the end of Half Blood Prince, and his worry continues throughout Deathly Hallows. He has a vision of Malfoy Manor and wakes up from it with, _“Malfoy’s gaunt, petrified face seemed branded on the inside of his eyes. Harry felt sickened by what he had seen, by the use to which Draco was now being put by Voldemort.”_ (174-175). Then, when Harry finds himself in Malfoy Manor and up close and personal with Draco’s face, he notices that although he looks a lot like his father, Lucius, Malfoy’s expression was full of reluctance. Harry is starting to figure out that Draco Malfoy is not his father and that there’s still hope for him.

There’s enough hope for him that when Harry is trying to escape from the fiendfyre that Crabbe unleashed he circles back despite Ron’s protests in order to save Draco: _“Harry dived. Malfoy saw him coming and raised one arm.”_ The pair has put their differences aside. They might not yet be friends, but they’re no longer enemies/rivals. Their relationship has changed enough in this moment where Draco trusts Harry, and Harry is willing to risk his life to save him, that they open up the possibility that they could be friends (or lovers) in the future. But saving Draco once is not enough for Harry Potter, who definitely gets off on saving people. He saves him again later by stunning a Death Eater that Draco was pleading with, and _“Malfoy looked around, beaming, for his savior”_ (645).

Another little moment of Drarry, actually happens near the beginning of the story. Harry is sorting through his trunk to decide what to bring on his adventure and what to throw away. While doing this, he comes across an old badge in the bottom of his trunk. Yes, it’s the _SUPPORT CEDRIC DIGGORY/POTTER STINKS_ button from Goblet of Fire. Draco spent way too much time enchanting it since it still works three years later. But there’s no reason that Harry should have kept one. No reason, other than the fact that he liked Draco (though is unwilling to admit it to himself). Harry smashed Sirius’s mirror when he was grieving the loss of Sirius, surely he would have wanted to throw out anything that was a painful reminder of Cedric Diggory’s death, and yet, here it sits in his trunk as a reminder of his archrival, and future boyfriend, Draco Malfoy.


	9. Epilogue: All Was Well

**Epilogue: All Was Well**

I, uh, didn’t read the epilogue during this reread because I don’t like it. So, I give you permission to ignore this section as well. Looking at the series as a whole, I think there’s room for fanfiction to pick up where the books left off and finish Draco’s redemption arc, which could involve Harry becoming friends (or lovers) with Draco. The enemies plot and the groundwork for friendship are there, so now it’s up to the shipper to seal the deal. 

If you want to consider the epilogue as canon, though I definitely don’t blame you if you want to ignore it, Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy don’t fight when they interact. Instead, they nod at each other in understanding, and Harry encourages his youngest son to not be afraid of being sorted into Slytherin house. He references Snape in that moment, but it could have also been seeing Draco. It would be believable, after this exchange, that Harry no longer hates Draco and that Draco feels similarly. 

Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy started off on very different paths: Harry was unloved until Hogwarts where his found family showed him compassion, understanding, and light. Draco was loved until Hogwarts where his found family showed him competition, hatred, and darkness. They balance each other out. Harry can be the beacon of hope that Draco so desperately needs, and Draco can show Harry how to navigate the Wizarding World (he certainly has had more experience in that matter than the Weasleys). Harry can learn to think before he acts, and Draco can learn how to support and build people up. 

Drarry may not be your ship of choice, and that’s understandable. Not every ship is for everybody. But I do think that Drarry has its merits and that it’s a very plausible ship. Do not pity the dead, my friends. Pity the living, and above all, those who live without Drarry.


End file.
